


Reaching Out

by 360loverpenguin



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: But can be taken as that, Cassandra's Revenge, Demanitus scroll, Not explicitly Cassarian, Really up to you, Varian wants to help Cass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22783057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/360loverpenguin/pseuds/360loverpenguin
Summary: “But she didn't kidnap me!” Varian all but yelled, whipping around to face the princess, all the raw emotion in his voice displaying itself in the form of tears brimming the edges of his eyes. “I went with her! And you never should've come for me, Cass would…” Varian shut his eyes, taking a shaky breath as he continued.She had tried to hurt Rapunzel and Eugene. Just as he had what wasn't more than a year or so before. But he eventually saw the light, and he had trust she would too. She had shoved him away from her, had chosen not to hurt him, only blunt rocks ever finding there way to him. That was his Cassie. And if she was still in there, than whatever Cassandra had become, was worth fighting for.
Relationships: Cassandra & Varian (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 84





	Reaching Out

**Author's Note:**

> This is a bit of a take on Cassandra's Revenge, so I'd suggest watching that if you haven't already. I came up with the concept of Varian willingly going with Cass to reach out to her before the episode, so that'll be the one difference.
> 
> The end, however, follows Varian after the battle leading to the destruction of the tower, which is canon. Enjoy!!
> 
> Also, [here's a beautiful sketch of the scene in Varian's lab](https://sta.sh/01eaiudo58s1)!

Her steps echoed heavily through the corridor as she vaguely scanned the mostly empty cells. Her sword hung loosely in her hand, the tip eerily scraping against the cracked stone floor beside her, the faint sound multiplying as it bounced off the large walls surrounding her.

She passed dozens of empty cells, each looking perfectly similar, and not at all what she had hoped. Her gaze was reserved for one prisoner, one who she still believed did not have a place there. The cells droned on for what seemed to be an eternity, mocking her in the absence of who she sought.

She sighed in exasperation as she reached the end of the final row, slamming her fists hopelessly against the wall, her hands pressing closer against her hard armour. Resting her head against the cool stone, Cassandra allowed her thoughts to stray for a moment. Had the king done the just thing and released him? After all, he had only been a kid when they sent him to this lifeless places three years before.

Three years… she had to bite back a breathy laugh at that. It really had been that long since she had been in Corona, hadn't it? But so many things had changed since then, it felt like centuries. The last time she had been there… she had been a different person, that thought still making her uneasy. For the better, or the worse, had she turned?

She no longer lived in anyone’s shadow, forcing the spotlight to rest on her alone. No longer letting anyone else decide what her destiny was. She had one now, that was certain. That thought alone should’ve been enough to console her but… it felt empty.

“This is your destiny. This is what you want.” she silently hissed, clenching her teeth as she allowed her fists to slam against the stone once more, the stone unmoving. Why did those words still feel unbearably hollow? This is all she had ever wanted! She had a clear path, but it was much darker than she had expected.

“He’s not here, we’ll have to head to Old Corona.” she bit, whipping herself around, putting her back to the wall that marked the end of the corridor. Turning away from her incessant and confused thoughts, forcing them aside.

She stormed into the nearest cell, her forearm harshly slamming the iron bars aside. Her jaw tightened slightly as the large crash it made reverberated endlessly off the walls, leaving not an inch untouched by the harsh sound.

Reckless. Stupid. Careless.

When had she become this sloppy? She had a plan, in and out of Corona unseen, no potential for more pain. But here she found herself, practically inviting the guards to come down and start a scene, and then they… they would bring the princess with them. Cass felt her blood freeze, her vision blurring on the wall in front of her till she no longer registered what she was seeing.

What would it be to see Rapunzel after all this time? To see the person who had caused her all this pain? The person who had… who had been closest to her for so long. Cass felt woulds opening, seemingly still so fresh, though she had convinced herself they had healed long ago.

She stepped back slightly, though unsure of what she was backing away from.  
“Cassandra, may I remind you we’re on a time crunch?” a voice said, the enchanted girl materializing beside her.

Cass shook her head, shoving her thoughts aside. “Right, right, sorry.” she mumbled, forcing her concentration on the task at hand. She stretched her arms out in front of her urging a few rocks to sprout upwards and destroy the wall in front of her.

She grit her teeth, sweat appearing on her brow from the force. Every ounce of energy in her begging the rocks to follow her. Her muscles seized with exertion, screaming as she refused to break her stance. She spared a glance downwards, barely able to notice the tips of a few rocks cracking through the stone ground.

She fell backwards, her back pressing hard against a wall. Her lungs gasped in air like they never had before, her heart pounding as she found herself unable to move. She allowed herself to rest her head against back against the cell’s wall. She blinked away the dizziness swarming around her, forcing her now shaky legs to help her stand.

“This is why you need that incantation.” the enchanted girl said, glaring at Cass.

She merely nodded in return, “I know who has it.” she whispered, forcing herself to believe that the shakiness in her voice was from the exertion.

——

Cass glanced around at the familiar sights, hesitantly placing one of her boots onto the first cracked step of his house. She slowly dragged her other foot up, taking as much time as she possibly could to climb the few step lying ahead of her. Her legs felt heavy as she forced herself to continue, eyes filled with trepidation as she slowly approached the door.

Her hand reached out, gloved fingers slowly splaying over the wood riddled with knots and cracks, a shaky sigh escaping her. Why was this so hard for her? It wasn't as if she was going to hurt him, she just needed the scroll. And yet… what if she did? What if something went wrong?

She slammed those thoughts out of her mind, she couldn't allow distractions. She harshly forced the door open, descending the scarcely illuminated steps leading to what she knew was his lab. She glanced around anxiously, memories of her past times here flooding her mind. How small their problems had seemed back then, just seeking out a wizard to solve the mystery of some crazily long hair. But things were different now.

She shoved aside the door to his workspace, much lighter than the last one, and the final barrier between them.

A small wave of relief rushed over her when she saw him, he was okay. His back was turned to her, him excitedly flipping through the pages of a book lying open on his desk, and muttering something to himself as he scribbled in the margins.

She smiled slightly, the sight so familiar and calming, she allowed herself to pause, forget her goal for a moment. That moment didn't last long, a wave of guilt slamming against her chest, causing her to place her hand over the moonstone. Right, the scroll.

She cleared her throat, drawing his eyes away fro the book, and causing him to turn and face her, those eyes now meeting hers.

They were so bright, and much less hurt than the last time she had seen him all that time ago. It… could it ever be like that again for her? If she just released the… No. A voice echoed in the back of her head, “She stole your destiny Cassandra. Took everything from you. Will you just spend your life waiting for a fair shot?”

There was no future for her there. This—was her only shot. She wouldn’t allow herself to get distracted. She had a goal, she couldn't lose sight of that, personal feelings would only get in the way. Without the moonstone, she had nothing. No destiny.

He turned from his book, flighting back a gasp at the sight painted in front of him. “Cassie! You… you’re back!” he said softly, his eyes lighting up as he saw her. Tears of disbelief vaguely lining the brims of his eyes. A feeling of relief rushed over him, causing him to lose his grip on the pencil he had been holding, it clattering to the ground next to him. Varian had to stop himself from running to her, all the questions swarming his head for months forgotten, replaced by the utter relief of seeing her here, okay.

He noticed a hint of shock flash across her eyes before she forced them to harden again. “You have the Demanitus scroll.” She said, her voice brimming with an ice Varian had never heard. What would she want with the scroll? All it had on it was… the incantations. His eyes finally broke away from hers, trailing down to the moonstone imbedded in her armour.

She took the moonstone in Rapunzel’s place.

He sucked in a sharp breath, shutting his eyes. She had betrayed Rapunzel, that wasn't Cass. She would never do something like that, he mentally repeated, willing this all to be a dream. But his eyes flickered open, and there she was, blue hair, rock armour and all, standing before him.

The biggest change had been her eyes. They may be a different colour now, sure, but that was only on the surface of them. There was so much pain behind her glare, but she forced it aside in favour of her anger. Dealing with that pain alone was too much. The familiarity of the look slammed into Varian’s chest, that had once been him, hadn’t it?

The one question that remained was what had happened out there to do this?

“Cassandra, are you okay?” he whispered, taking a step towards her, reaching for her hand. She immediately stepped back, her hand reaching for a large black sword from a sheath resting against her back.

She held the blade in front of her, it’s point reaching up to the ceiling, forcing it to remain steady between them. “Don’t.” she said, more force behind the word than could have been natural. “Do you have the scroll?” She asked. A small part of her vied him to say no, give her a reason to run. To turn away from Corona, to forget her past there.

She watched his hand flinch back when she drew her sword, but there was no fear in his eyes. Only shock, sending a rippling feeling through Cass, shaking her nerves slightly. She shouldn't care about him, the last time she saw him he had tried to kill her. She should just force him to hand over the scroll… but something inside her forbade her too, and she couldn't say she had the urge to fight against it.

He turned back towards his desk, quickly grabbing a worn leather satchel from the ground nearby. He reached up, carefully taking the scroll down from the wall above the desk, where it had been surrounded by notes of his translations, gently placing the artifact into the small bag.

Cass allowed the tip of her sword to clatter against the stone ground, it creating a small chip where it connected with the already cracked stone. “Y’know, most people wouldn’t turn their backs on someone holding a sword to them.” She said, allowing herself for a split second to forget everything outside of that room.

“Yeah, but you weren't really holding to me, were you? And… I trust you.” he said, shrugging slightly as he began placing colourful glass vials into the bag. He shook one of them slightly, bringing it closer to his face to examine it. After adding a few drops from another vial, he was seemingly satisfied, shoving into the bottom of the satchel, slinging it over his shoulder.

“Alright, let’s go.” he said, a small smile present on his face. She merely stared at him in return, gesturing to the bag with her hand, silently telling him to hand her what she had come for.

“Well, aren’t you gonna need someone to translate it?” he asked gently.

——

The battle was over, the remnants of the incantations clashing against each other still ringing in his ears.

Varian forced his feet to lead him away from the fragments that had once been a stronghold, everything in him tugging at him to stay. Turning his back on the tower… meant turning his back on her. And Varian wasn't entirely sure he was prepared for that.

Where would he be if Rapunzel had given up on him? Locked in a jail cell somewhere? Off with Andrew, hurting innocent people? He shuddered at those thoughts. No. That wasn't him. Not anymore. And he wanted to be there for Cass, help wake her up from the blind pain she was in.

He had a feeling that she was in as much danger as they had been, when the rocks had seemed to surround them, glowing furiously as Cass shot them towards the princess. There was… something else. Something keeping Cass on her dark path, something causing her to be unable to see the light. And despite the need in his heart to help save her from it, to get through to her, as he almost had mere hours ago, he walked away.

He forced his feet to take one step, then another, and lead him away from this place. Away from her. Not that he knew where she was, she had disappeared after the sun’s power destroyed the seemingly unbreakable shards.

Varian nearly tripped over his own feet, stopping hard before the mouth of rocks into this clearing. She… she had to be okay, right? Surely Rapunzel and the others had to have checked on her. She couldn't have fallen alongside him, could she?  
Varian wracked his brain, hoping for a single image of her almost glowing blue hair, of her armour safe on some stable part of the tower, as the blast of energy threw him from his rock prison, the one that had kept him from reaching her. He turned up with nothing, the last thing he saw before the fall had been Rapunzel, desperately reading the incantation he had given her, and then… nothing.

Blurred black rocks, and a dull green ground that had been coming much too quickly for his liking, until he landed safely with Lance. He had been too shaken up to notice what happened to Cass, and that feeling struck his chest hard.

He turned around, met with Eugene and Rapunzel walking over to him, Eugene roughly pulling him into a hug before Varian had a chance to look around. “Kid, I’m so glad you're okay.” he said, hiding the tired relief in his voice.

Varian half shoved the other half of Team Awesome off of him, stepping back slightly. “Is she okay? Where is she?” He asked, voice filled with a desperation Varian wished wasn't there.

Eugene gave him a confused look, “You mean, Cassandra? She won’t hurt you anymore, it’s in the past.” he said, and Varian couldn't help but notice how much he had hesitated saying her name.

A slight wave of shock rippled through Varian, “Hurt me? Wha— no, no! She didn't hurt me! We have to go back for her she could be hurt, no one knows what happened after that blast and—.” he said, rambling as he tried to step past a concerned Eugene. He couldn't leave her after all that, not as he had been left.

Eugene stopped him, gently grabbing his arm as Rapunzel began to speak gently. “Look, Varian, I know how you felt about her, but she kidnapped you and…” she paused, likely thinking about how to voice all Cassandra had done.

“But she didn't kidnap me!” Varian all but yelled, whipping around to face the princess, all the raw emotion in his voice displaying itself in the form of tears brimming the edges of his eyes. “I went with her! And you never should've come for me, Cass would…” Varian shut his eyes, taking a shaky breath as he continued. She had tried to hurt Rapunzel and Eugene. Just as he had what wasn't more than a year or so before. But he eventually saw the light, and he had trust she would too. She had shoved him away from her, had chosen not to hurt him, only blunt rocks ever finding there way to him. That was his Cassie. And if she was still in there, than whatever Cassandra had become, was worth fighting for. “She’s still in there, Rapunzel. And if you hadn't come, I could've gotten through to her!” he finished, voice raspy, his now opened eyes vying her to agree with him.

“I get it, you liked her, she seemed perfect to you. But you have to understand everything that she's done.” Eugene added softly, placing a hand on Varian’s shoulder.

“I do. She's caused a lot of pain. But so did I. Why did you believe there was a shot for me, but not for her?” he asked, not expecting an answer.

Eugene and Rapunzel glanced at each other, Lance awkwardly standing a few paces behind them.  
“Thank you, Rapunzel, for not giving up on me. But now I cant give up on her, not yet, not now.” he whispered, allowing the tears to drip down his face as he turned, the tower once more placing a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as faced it.

He took a shaky step forward, using the momentum of that to lead him into another, more confident, more determined. He would find Cassandra.

He continued his walk towards the tower, as he vaguely heard the footsteps of the others leading in the opposite direction.

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, go support the amazing artist who was kind enough to do [this sketch](https://sta.sh/01eaiudo58s1)!


End file.
